How can a scientific study of food help me replenish my physical and emotional energy in a deeper way each day, enjoy a positive lifelong relationship with food, protect our beautiful planet, and help others satisfy their basic need for food?

Why Take This Course?

STEM 6/7 A focuses on food and how students can be better stewards of the Earth.

This Middle School STEM course takes students on a grand STEM adventure learning about cells, biomolecules, engineering and more. Through hands-on projects, mind-blowing STEM insights, and an eye-opening odiferous field trip, students explore a central topic in the human experience, Food! Students will answer the questions, “What is edible garbage, and how can I have an impact on waste and want?,” and ultimately gain insight on the impact of their choices when it comes to sustaining a healthy body and planet.

Expedition: Edible Garbage

Students will help end hunger, by serving in one of the following ways: 1) serving food to those in need through a local organization 2) collecting cans and donating them to a food pantry 3) spending time as a volunteer in a public or church-based food pantry 4) or finding a shelter that accepts slightly outdated food and collecting food to donate. Our goal is for each student to donate 2 or more hours in service to the homeless and hungry. Students will upload their service pictures and a reflection paragraph to a discussion board, and some class time will be dedicated to storytelling about these experiences.

Course Framework

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4

What does the rate of food decay, measured using the Scientific Method, tell us about processed foods & the Western Diet?

What is edible garbage and why do people go hungry in the presence of excess food?

How natural and sustainable is the Western diet?

What is DNA and how does it contribute to who I am?

What criteria must exist for something to be considered 'living'?

Why is there so much hunger in the world when we have more than enough food?

What are the major components of the Western Diet?

What is DNA and how are we affected by its manipulation in food and animals?

What is the purpose and what are the components of a cell?

What type of engineering is most effective when it comes to dealing with edible garbage and other waste?

What simple food rules will help me eat well and avoid ever-changing food trends?

What can I do about edible garbage?

What happens as food decays?

How does great engineering make the world a better place?

What are the roles of each of the 4 main biomolecules in the body?

What is right and wrong when it comes to the genetic modification of plants, animals and humans?

How can I give an excellent, informative presentation to my class?

What can I learn about engineering through a hands-on engineering experience?

Which food combinations and diets have stood the test of time and why?

How are genetic traits determined?

What more can we learn about the lack of decay in processed foods when we merge all our data together as a class?

How can I use engineering principles to have a great time completing my midterm project?

What is the effect on people, animals and the Earth of the heavy reliance on meat in the Western diet?